Several residents within the City of Mbombela (CoM) have raised concerns over unusually high utility bills, claiming they are being charged excessive amounts without proper explanation or communication from the CoM.

Some alleged that instead of taking actual meter readings, the municipality estimates consumption and generates bills based on those estimates.

They said this has resulted in consumers paying for services they did not use.

Others claimed that even after submitting the correct meter readings to the municipality, they are still expected to pay the disputed amounts while interest continues accumulating on outstanding balances.

One affected resident, Cahrine Pretorius, said her household has been submitting photographs of their monthly meter readings for years without problems.

“We have been sending photos with our monthly consumption for years, and receipt has always been acknowledged by email. But since last month there has been nothing, and this month the email no longer works. It is now handled by a different person, and there is no account feedback,” she said.

Another resident, Johan Bothma, said his municipal account doubled from R4 000 to R8 000 despite maintaining the same usage patterns.

“My wife and I are pensioners, and we did nothing more than usual. My geyser is turned on every morning for three hours and then switched off again.
I use borehole water for the garden only on Saturdays for two hours, my swimming pool pump is used once a month, and in the evenings we use minimal lighting. Yet my water consumption, which averaged 10 kilolitres per month over a year, suddenly reached 40 units, while my electricity bill more than doubled,” he said.

Renee Duncan also questioned the accuracy of her bill after noticing a major discrepancy between the municipality’s reading and her actual meter reading.

“According to my May account, the municipal water reading was 2 960 on May 15. However, the actual reading on May 25 was 2 712. This equates to more than R3 500 that has been added to our account incorrectly. We are not the only ones in the neighbourhood experiencing this,” she said.

Kirsten de Kock said her bill had suddenly increased from R300 to R6 000 over the past few months without explanation.

“I went to the municipality to enquire about the matter and I was told it would be corrected. However, nothing has been done to date, and the amount continues to accumulate interest,” she said.

CoM spokesperson Joseph Ngala said all billing queries are attended to and resolved when residents approach the municipality.

“Bills are no longer sent physically but via email, and customers are often reminded to update their email addresses. We conduct meter readings before preparing and sending bills to clients. If mistakes occur on our side, we rectify them and provide the client with a corrected bill without interest charges,” said Ngala.

He added that residents who use municipal services but do not receive their statements should approach the municipality to ensure payments are made on time, as unpaid amounts carry over to the following month.

Ngala also urged residents to personally visit municipal offices when dealing with billing problems instead of relying on ward councillors who may not have access to their account information.